The memorial would be built between the Washington Monument and the Capitol by Alpha Phi Alpha, one of the country's oldest predominantly black fraternities.

"Dr. King's message of nonviolence and freedom for all should be passed from generation to generation," Warner said Friday. "A memorial in his name will be effective in helping us reach this important goal."

The measure, which passed the Senate on a voice vote, capped an eight-year effort by Warner to commission a King memorial, according to his office. In 1996, Warner and co-sponsor Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., introduced legislation authorizing the establishment of a memorial that would be built entirely with private contributions.

Last week's bill approves recommendations made by the U.S. Interior Department. The agency determined that the proposed memorial meets the criteria of historical significance required for a prominent spot in the central monumental core of the District of Columbia.

MILITARY PAY. Local troops eager for a pay raise might take small comfort in knowing that next year's average raise might be 3.6 percent, instead of the 3.1 percent recommended by the Pentagon.

Senators initially balked at financing the 3.6 percent raise that was in a House defense bill. But in approving their own budget Thursday, Senate leaders said they found the additional $186 million required, through savings in programs that they didn't identify.

"I am pleased we found a way to give our military personnel the pay raise they so richly deserve," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.

Advocates of the pay boost said it would provide a raise equal to those offered in the private sector and avoid widening the "pay gap" between military and private-sector jobs.

"It corrects a deficiency which has been building in military pay for some time," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.

But the pay increase is not a sure thing yet. It must still be included in companion appropriations bills making their way through Congress.

FAMILY TIES. As previously reported, Newport News Rep. Robert C. Scott has been named to a nine-member House panel that will investigate whether national security was compromised in the possible transfer of missile technology to China and whether White House policy was influenced by campaign contributions.

The awkwardly titled Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China conducted its first meeting Thursday, largely to adopt work rules.

"We will have public hearings," said the panel's chairman, Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif. "But much of our work will be conducted in executive session." Because many of the allegations of missile-technology transfers to China involve classified information, he said, "We have to be discreet."

Cox, by the way, has a family tie to Hampton Roads. His sister, Terry Cox-Joseph, is the wife of outgoing Newport News City Councilman Vincent Joseph.

Asked last week about her brother's new investigative role, Cox-Joseph said, "If anybody can do it, he can. He's a very logical thinker. He's really good at bringing people together."

QUIP OF THE WEEK: Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., on the Air Force's $182 million-a-copy F-22 Raptor fighter jet: "Not only is this plane very expensive, it simply is not going to work."